法苑珠林 38.72

38.72

坊州玉華宮寺南二十里許大高嶺。俗號檀臺山。上有古塔基甚宏壯。面方四十三尺。上有一層甎身。四面開戶。石門高七尺餘。廣五尺餘。傍有破甎無數。古老傳云。昔周文王於此游獵。見有沙門執錫持鉢山頭立住。喚下不來。王遣往捉。將至不見。遠看仍在。乃勅掘所立處。深三丈獲得鉢杖而已。王重之為聖。故為起甎塔一十三級。左側村墟常聞鍾聲。至龍朔元年。京師大慈恩寺沙門慧貴法師。聞之便往。又聞鍾聲。慷慨古迹將事修理。恨無泉水懷惑猶豫。貴又感祥云。護塔善神曰。可即經始不勞疑慮。又感異僧曰。我是南方淨土菩薩。行化至此。云是塔自古至今己經四造。勿辭勞倦。功用必成。唯須牢作。不事華侈。三層便止。貴聞此告親事經營。塔側古窯三十餘所。猶有熟甎填滿。更尋塔南川中。乃是古寺。背山面水。一期幽栖之勝地也。自未修前鍾聲時至。恰今營搆依時發聲。三下長打如今集僧上堂方法。

About twenty li south of Yuhua Palace Temple in Fangzhou, there is a great high ridge popularly known as Mount Tantai. On it is an ancient pagoda foundation of great magnificence, measuring forty-three feet on each side. Above it stands a single tier of brick body with doors opening on all four sides; the stone doors are over seven feet high and over five feet wide. Beside it are countless broken bricks. An old tradition says that long ago King Wen of Zhou was hunting here when he saw a śramaṇa holding a mendicant staff and carrying a bowl, standing on the mountain peak. When called down, he would not come. The king sent men to seize him, but as they drew near, he vanished; looking from afar, he was still there. The king then ordered men to dig at the spot where he had stood; at a depth of thirty feet, they obtained only the bowl and staff. The king revered him as a sage, and so erected a thirteen-tiered brick pagoda for him. The village on the left side often heard the sound of a bell. In the first year of the Longshuo reign-period, Master of the Dharma Huigui, a śramaṇa from Great Cien Temple in the capital, heard of it and went there, and he too heard the sound of the bell. Stirred with noble resolve for the ancient site, he was about to undertake its restoration, but lamented the lack of spring water and felt doubtful and hesitant. Gui then experienced an auspicious sign: a good spirit protecting the pagoda said, "You may begin the work at once; do not trouble yourself with doubts and hesitations." He was also moved by an extraordinary monk, who said: "I am a bodhisattva from a southern pure land, traveling and teaching to this place." He said, "This pagoda has already been rebuilt four times from antiquity to the present. Do not shirk toil and weariness; your efforts will surely succeed. Only make it solid; do not pursue lavish luxury. Stop at three tiers." Hearing this announcement, Gui personally managed the construction. Beside the pagoda were more than thirty ancient kilns, still filled to the brim with fired bricks. Looking further into the valley south of the pagoda, there turned out to be an ancient temple, backed by mountains and facing the water—a superb site for secluded dwelling at that time. Before the repairs, the bell would chime at times; now, as construction was underway, it chimed on schedule, tolling three prolonged strokes just like the current method for summoning monks to the hall.